The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: robertsig on January 21, 2011, 12:21:09 pm
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I am going to buy (sorry guys, my woodworking skills are below nil) an arcade cabinet for the purpose of using MAME from NorthCoast Custom (mameroom.com). I am going with a three-sided cocktail cabinet and will give them a nice 19" CRT monitor to install. I'll put in a PC, Windows, MAME and all that later. But right now my questions revolve about how to customize it.
http://www.mameroom.com/Products_Cocktail3_Kit.asp (http://www.mameroom.com/Products_Cocktail3_Kit.asp)
Their standard layout on the two ends should suffice for most old two player games like Galaxian, Pac Man, Space Invaders and the like. I'll stick with that. However, I want to convert the third "long" side to be more universal for other single-player games.
As far as "unique" games are concerned - or at least those with special controller needs - I'd like to be able to play these:
Crazy Climber
Robotron
Tempest
Missile Command
Tron
I need help with a layout so I can tell NorthCoast how it should look. Regretabbly, I haven't played the originals of these games in over 20 years so my memory is fuzzy on how the controllers should look and work.
I know I need dual joysticks for CC and Robotron
I need a spinner for Tempest and Tron
I need a trackball for Missile Command (and probably several other games too.)
If you were going to layout that long side of a cocktail cabinet to accommodate those games, how would you do it? My only decision so far is to put the spinner on the left so it emulates Tron more accurately than Tempest. I am right handed but don't mind using my left for the spinner, unless you tell me that is a stupid idea.
And for those who have built a similar all-in-one arcade cabinet, is there any other design recommendations you can give?
Thanks!
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...my memory is fuzzy on how the controllers should look and work...
Try KLOV, they are very likely to have control panel pictures of the games you're looking for:
http://www.arcade-museum.com/ (http://www.arcade-museum.com/)
I think it would be very difficult to get a spinner, trackball and all else onto such a small space. Some compromises may be required. For example, if you reduce the number of buttons down to a minimum to support the "unique" games, perhaps it can be made to work well. I wish you luck.
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I decided to axe Tron as a requirement because it would be the only game I want to play with a "flightstick" type of setup. So can anyone give some recommendations on a good layout that covers most of the older games from the early 80's?
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Well you could always make the control surface modular, or make it easy to swap complete control surfaces for special games.
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The problem you get is everything gets really crowded, especially on a cocktail. Better to accept that you won't be playing everything on it, than have all those controls on there and not be able to play anything properly. And it will look like ass ;D
I put five buttons on my cocktail control panel so I could play Defender. Even that is too crowded in my opinion. Would have been better to go with three and enjoy what I can on it.
Or, as Knave suggested, a modular control panel. A pioneer of that technique is Doc:
http://www.beersmith.com/mame/ (http://www.beersmith.com/mame/)
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I spent all night looking at panels from other people and I'm deciding how I want to do this. I will have a three sided cocktail cabinet, so that opens up a lot of possibilities. If I decide to ditch the need to play 2-player games across from each other, I can use the cocktail sides for specialty games and make three unique panels. I am only interested in games before 1986. The question is whether I can even get unique things like a trackball on a side, or whether I should relegate the big things like spinners and trackballs to the single long side.